Thursday, November 21, 2013

The problems plaguing HealthCare.gov saturate the news cycle as one story after another documents the difficulties uninsured Americans are encountering as they attempt to sign up for health insurance coverage on the online federal exchange. The question that comes to mind as I hear the stories about low sign-up rates due to glitches on the exchange is why wasn't HealthCare.gov built in the image of medicare.gov?

We are currently in Medicare's open enrollment period, October 15th to December 7, and I have been working with beneficiaries to sign them up or review their current plan options through medicare.gov, Medicare's official website. The website works seamlessly as I research its databases to find available plans; review costs and benefits; screen beneficiaries for Extra Help or Prescription Advantage, the federal and state federal assistance programs that help low-income and low-asset beneficiaries with Medicare Part D drug plan costs; and provide enrollment assistance.